Patient Resources & Learning

Trusted resources to help you understand giant cell arteritis (GCA), find support, and get help with treatment. These links go to outside organizations and are provided for your convenience. Always talk with your own care team about your diagnosis and treatment.

Sudden vision loss or change is an emergency

Go to the nearest emergency room right away. Early treatment can protect your sight.

Vasculitis Foundation

The Vasculitis Foundation is the leading patient organization for vasculitis, including GCA. It offers education, webinars, support groups, and opportunities to take part in research.

Learn more about GCA

Medications for GCA

Treatment usually begins with corticosteroids (such as prednisone) to calm inflammation quickly and protect vision. Many patients also take a steroid-sparing medicine to control the disease and lower the total amount of steroids needed. Two medicines are FDA-approved specifically for GCA:

A note about JAK inhibitors (like upadacitinib)

JAK inhibitors carry the FDA’s strongest (“boxed”) warning for serious infections, blood clots, certain cancers, and major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke, as well as a higher risk of death. These risks come largely from a study of a different JAK inhibitor in people with rheumatoid arthritis who had heart-disease risk factors; in the giant cell arteritis trial, these cardiovascular events were not seen, but the warnings still apply to this class of medicines. Your rheumatologist will weigh these risks with you, especially if you have heart-disease risk factors, a history of blood clots or cancer, or you smoke. Read the FDA’s JAK-inhibitor warning.

Living with treatment: steroids & bone health

GCA is usually treated with corticosteroids (such as prednisone), sometimes for many months. Over time, steroids can weaken the bones, so it is worth asking your care team about protecting your bone health — including calcium and vitamin D, a bone-density (DEXA) scan, and whether a bone-protecting medication is right for you.

Help paying for medication

If you are prescribed tocilizumab or upadacitinib and are worried about cost, the manufacturers run programs that may help with out-of-pocket expenses or provide the medicine at no cost for those who qualify. These are listed for your convenience and are not an endorsement — your care team and insurance plan can help you find the best option.

Questions to ask your doctor

If you’re being evaluated for GCA

If you’ve been diagnosed with GCA

What to expect at your vascular ultrasound

A vascular ultrasound is painless and uses sound waves — there are no needles and no radiation. A trained sonographer applies a little gel and gently moves a small probe over the arteries at your temples, and sometimes your arms and neck, to look for signs of inflammation. The exam typically takes under an hour. Your care team will give you any specific instructions before your visit.

Vascular ultrasound for GCA is not available at every medical center — it requires specially trained sonographers. At the University of Washington, our sonographers have performed hundreds of temporal artery ultrasounds since the program began in 2017.

Importantly, a vascular ultrasound that does not show inflammation does not completely rule out GCA. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may still recommend a temporal artery biopsy (a small sample of the temple artery) to help confirm the diagnosis.

Common terms

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